Sweat and Soap

Sweat and Soap (Japanese: あせとせっけん, Hepburn: Ase to Sekken) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kintetsu Yamada [ja]. It was serialized in Kodansha's digital seinen manga magazine D Morning from June 2018 to August 2019, and later in Morning from October 2019 to January 2021, with its chapters collected in eleven tankōbon volumes. A nine-episode television drama adaptation was broadcast on MBS from February to April 2022.

Sweat and Soap
First volume cover, featuring Asako Yaeshima (left) and Kotaro Natori
あせとせっけん (Ase to Sekken)
Genre	Romantic comedy[1] Slice of life[2]
Manga
Written by	Kintetsu Yamada [ja]
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA: Kodansha USA
Magazine	D Morning (June 21, 2018 – August 22, 2019) Morning (October 3, 2019 – January 7, 2021)
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	June 21, 2018 – January 7, 2021
Volumes	11
Television drama
Directed by	Shūhei Shibue Yuki Kumagai
Written by	Moral Tete Inoue Santa Ikegame
Original network	MBS
Original run	February 4, 2022 – April 1, 2022
Episodes	9

Plot

Asako Yaeshima is a timid office worker at Lilia Drop, a toiletry company. Asako loves the company, because she is ashamed of her sweating problems and body odor, and the scent of the soap produced by the company is the only thing capable of undermining her insecurities. However, when Kotaro Natori, the company's lead product developer, approaches her and gets a deep whiff, he states that he loves Asako's smell and finds her inspirational. As the two continue to meet for work, Asako begins to care less about being sniffed by Kotaro, and they start a romantic relationship.

Characters

Asako Yaeshima (八重島 麻子, Yaeshima Asako)

Portrayed by: Yuno Ōhara^[3]

Kotaro Natori (名取 香太郎, Natori Kotaro)

Portrayed by: Kanta Sato^[3]

Korisu Ichise

Portrayed by: Haruka Kudō^[4]

Keita Yaeshima

Portrayed by: Kazuto Mokudai^[4]

Yūji Suzumura

Portrayed by: Shūzō Ōhira^[4]

Maki Sakashita

Portrayed by: Ayaka Nakata^[4]

Osamu Hashitani

Portrayed by: Yūsaku Mori^[4]

Jin Ōkura

Portrayed by: Mansaku Ikeuchi^[4]

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Kintetsu Yamada [ja], a one-shot chapter of Sweat and Soap was published on Kodansha's digital manga magazine D Morning on January 4, 2018.^[5] It was later published as a full-fledged serialized manga in the same magazine from June 21, 2018,^[6] to August 22, 2019.^[7] The series was then transferred to Morning, being serialized from October 3, 2019,^[8] to January 7, 2021.^[9][10] Kodansha collected its chapters in eleven tankōbon volumes, released from October 10, 2018,^[1] to May 21, 2021.^[11]

In North America, Kodansha USA announced the English language release of the manga in July 2019.^[12] The eleven volumes were published from February 25, 2020,^[13] to December 14, 2021.^[14]

After the serialization, Yamada published a 24-page doujinshi titled Kodomo Tsukuru Hon (こどもつくる本, "A Book of Making a Baby") in Comitia 136 in June 2021. The story is about Asako and Kotaro having sex without contraception for the first time.^[15]

Volumes

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	October 10, 2018[16]	978-4-06-513342-2	February 25, 2020[13]	978-1-64659-336-1
2	January 23, 2019[17]	978-4-06-514297-4	April 28, 2020[18]	978-1-64659-474-0
3	April 23, 2019[19]	978-4-06-515186-0	August 18, 2020[20]	978-1-64659-573-0
4	July 23, 2019[21]	978-4-06-516516-4	October 20, 2020[22]	978-1-64651-006-1
5	October 23, 2019[23]	978-4-06-517224-7 978-4-06-517777-8 (LE)	January 5, 2021[24]	978-1-64659-435-1
6	January 23, 2020[25]	978-4-06-518208-6 978-4-06-518783-8 (LE)	June 1, 2021[26]	978-1-64659-766-6
7	April 23, 2020[27]	978-4-06-519205-4 978-4-06-519708-0 (LE)	July 27, 2021[28]	978-1-64659773-4
8	July 20, 2020[29]	978-4-06-520281-4 978-4-06-520364-4 (LE)	August 31, 2021[30]	978-1-64659779-6
9	November 20, 2020[31]	978-4-06-520980-6 978-4-06-521127-4 (LE)	September 21, 2021[32]	978-1-63699390-4
10	February 22, 2021[33]	978-4-06-522342-0 978-4-06-522341-3 (LE)	November 16, 2021[34]	978-1-63699391-1
11	May 21, 2021[35]	978-4-06-523109-8 978-4-06-523274-3 (LE)	December 14, 2021[14]	978-1-64651297-3

Drama

In January 2022, it was announced that the series would receive a television drama adaptation, which was broadcast on MBS's Drama Tokku programming block from February 4 to April 1 of the same year.^[3][36][a]

Reception

Sweat and Soap placed second in the third annual Tsutaya Comic Awards in 2019.^[38] The series also placed ninth in the fifth Next Manga Awards in the digital category.^[39] Alongside Dr. Stone and Heterogenia Linguistico, the series ranked 17th on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2020 for male readers.^[40] It ranked sixth on "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2020" by the Honya Club online bookstore.^[41] The manga was nominated for the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category in 2021.^[42]

Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network wrote that while the "sniff-based" romance is a "bit awkward" or "uncomfortable", it is "worth giving this a chance anyway", adding: "it's easy to get behind Asako and Natori and in romance, that's often the most important thing."^[43] Brittany Vincent from Otaku USA called the main characters' relationship "downright enviable", and wrote that the story is "unique and moves along at a good clip."^[44] Demelza from Anime UK News wrote that despite a premise "somewhat creepy and off-putting", she "wasn't expecting such a sweet romance series", calling the "wholesome content of the story" a "compelling and heartwarming read", concluding: "If you're looking for a sweet love story involving adult characters then certainly give this one a go!."^[2]

Notes

1. MBS lists the air dates for the series on Thursday at 25:09, which is effectively Friday at 1:09 a.m. JST.^[37]